Thread by @oneunderscore__, New from me:Has a friend, almost overnight, become certain masks are for [...]

New from me:

Has a friend, almost overnight, become certain masks are for slaves, pedophiles run the world, and Donald Trump is saving it?

You're not alone.

Here's how QAnon and Facebook created the viral anti-mask tirade — and radicalized your friends. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-qanon-rode-pandemic-new-heights-fueled-viral-anti-mask-n1236695

Researchers and experts say QAnon has emerged in recent months as a sort of centralized hub for conspiracy and alternative health communities.

Researchers saw QAnon invade wellness, religious, and new age communities on Facebook right as the pandemic began to grip the U.S.

Now, people who were interested in stuff like crystals and energy believe Trump is a "light worker," saving the children.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-qanon-rode-pandemic-new-heights-fueled-viral-anti-mask-n1236695

So! You probably know Melissa Rein Lively as QAnon Karen. She trashed the mask section of a Target, then said she was "QAnon's spokesperson."

Five months before that, she "bought a hazmat suit," freaked out about COVID.

What changed? Her Facebook groups. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-qanon-rode-pandemic-new-heights-fueled-viral-anti-mask-n1236695

Researchers and experts say QAnon has emerged in recent months as a sort of centralized hub for conspiracy and alternative health communities.

You know Cristina Gomez from her anti-mask tirade at a Palm Beach County board meeting, accusing everyone of pedophilia.

One month before that, she wasn't even a Trump fan.

What changed? Facebook groups and YouTube.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-qanon-rode-pandemic-new-heights-fueled-viral-anti-mask-n1236695

Extremism experts say QAnon is radicalizing people at warp speed because, in a pandemic and recession, fighting against the Satanic cannibals gives them power.

They're taking advantage of what @_Shan_Martinez_ calls a "Trauma pandemic."

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/how-qanon-rode-pandemic-new-heights-fueled-viral-anti-mask-n1236695

You can follow @oneunderscore__.

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